Athletics

Between scouting for new recruits, traveling to tournaments and practicing for game day, the athletic department staff at University of California, Irvine is always on the go. But, keeping fans informed on the road had proved a challenge. So back in 2011, UCI equipped all 80 of its athletics staff with iPhones loaded with a full suite of social media and communications apps.

Coaches manage student athletes from the recruiting stage to the roster to graduation and beyond with Front Rush. Users can customize the software layout and track anything from academic accomplishments to students’ favorite movies. A database of high school coaches, club coaches, campus sports camp attendees, boosters and parents can also be created.

Paying college athletes is a hotter topic than ever in the wake of a lawsuit that saw EA Sports agree to discontinue its widely popular college football game.

Athletes appear to be the only ones who don’t profit from their likeness being used in games, says Mark D. Simpson, a partner at Saul Ewing LLP. (While not involved with the case, Simpson is a member of the law firm’s Higher Education Practice Group).

New York-based Winston & Strawn LLP starting what it describes as first college-focused division at a major law firm to represent coaches, schools and conferences -- and the unpaid athletes who generate more than $16 billion in college sports television contracts.

The university's official Twitter account (@SyracuseU), which is partially run by students, likely blundered for the third time in less than two years on Tuesday, re-Tweeting a Daily Orange story about recruits K.J. Williams and A.J. Long and committing a potential NCAA violation in the process.

There have been magazine covers, 20,000-word essays, grassroots campaigns, and thousands of people on Twitter who think they know what's best for college athletes. That includes athletes themselves, of course. They can tweet it up better than anyone.

The path to construction has been fraught with fundraising challenges, opposition from some close neighbors as well as snares from the city council, and scrutiny from the university itself on the financial viability of the project.